More than a transactional relationship, the collaboration of businesses & 3PL service providers is a partnership to cater to customers with perfection.
Most times, eCommerce retailers consider Third Party Logistics partners as their strategic consulting partners taking care of end-to-end order fulfillment and warehouse services. Though this perception is valid on its own, yet an experienced 3PL partner can be much more than that. A professionally competent 3PL partner with years of significant industry experience can help your business grow, especially during the current excruciating situation of a global pandemic that forced many companies to close shops.
A proficient 3PL strategic partner and advisor provides the industry know-how to organize and streamline your business operations to withstand any challenge and grow. An efficient 3PL brings to the table advanced and innovative technology coupled with predictive analytics that enables to overcome the roadblocks to the path of growth.
In many cases, it is observed that business growth faces challenges of supply chain limitations where the different aspects of logistics operate in silos. An expert 3PL partner always strives to see the “big picture” and help you relate the competency of logistics and transportation operations with the holistic growth of your business.
Following are the three significant ways in which your 3PL advisor and partner can help you grow:
Technological empowerment – Digitally advanced technology helps in smooth operations and can potentially become crucial for growth by attaining a higher level of efficiency and top-notch customer service. It has been widely accepted by experts that customer retention plays a more critical role in the growth of a business than acquiring new customers.
3PL firms provide you the access to their proprietary customized applications that can integrate well with your system and makes it stronger. It aims to provide better tracking and visibility to the entire operations and fulfillment system so you can get a quick update on any issue and resolve it immediately.
Streamlined process through automation – If you want to grow your business, you must implement an efficient and effective approach across all levels of operations. Every business needs well-organized methods and systems in place to keep costs under control and achieve customer delight. Your 3PL partner knows every aspect of your industry and can help you improve or implement a fool-proof process to tighten business operations.
An expert 3PL that was operating in the industry for a long time is usually empowered with experts to analyze processes and provide guidance on the required potential changes within the organization to improve productivity, efficiency, and cut down costs.
Audit operations – An efficient and experienced 3PL partner with thorough industry knowledge offers to run supply chain audits to help you plan and strategize operations to steer you to the path of growth. These audits are done periodically by industry experts within the 3PL team who have the significant industry insight to know precisely where change is required, which processes to be tightened, and where to cut down on costs. They aim to achieve an automated operation that runs like a well-oiled machine and yields better returns leading to growth.
Expert 3PL partners have excellent knowledge of the complete supply chain process, which exceeds the essential functions such as the pick, pack, inventory, warehouse, and ship. They share their expertise and valuable insights into your industry to give you a competitive edge. Once they review or audit your current operations, they will be able to advise on where exactly you are going wrong vis-à-vis the major players of your industry.
Your 3PL partner will guide you in the following areas which might have been hindering your growth –
- How to control your overhead costs when you are expanding your business
- Initial investments that are more crucial for growth such as new tools, technologies, equipment, physical facilities, or manpower
- Attain more flexibility in scaling your business in terms of space, labor, and transportation during peak demand season
- Advice and help you achieve high-quality customer service. Most businesses report a drastic improvement in the customer experience provided after partnering with an efficient 3PL provider
So, if you are working towards growing or expanding your business, the best professional decision to make it happen and succeed in your effort is to hire an efficient 3PL provider who is a long-term player in the industry.
While going through the selection process, ensure that they are a technology-powered operator with proprietary advanced software systems to provide data analytics at its best. Apart from technology, the most critical factor is the human factor. Make sure that your 3PL partner is operated by industry veterans with significant experience working with some eCommerce and retail giants.
About XPDEL:
XPDEL is a leading hi-tech provider of fulfillment and logistics services, on a mission to enable growth for eCommerce companies. Our existing customers know that everything we do or share is to help them grow. We are futuristic in our vision and constantly working on creating technology that allows us to meet customer expectations not just for today but also for tomorrow. We have a widespread network of fulfillment centers that enables us to efficiently handle nationwide delivery in the US – same day, next day, 2-day delivery. Being located closer to the end consumer, we deliver much faster compared to others.
